A Promise
by no cure for crazy
Summary: Ellie was going to find Marlene – she was going to figure this out. For Riley.


AN: Well, I know this has probably been done millions of times before but I just sat down to write to try my hand at the last of us fanfiction and well, this happened. Out of the main game and the dlc, the scene just after they were bite just stuck with me and thus, this was born.

Disclaimer: I'm not naughty dog, so obviously I don't own the game or these characters. I'm just borrowing them for the time being.

A Promise

* * *

"_Let's just wait it out; we can be all poetic and lose our minds together."_

That's the way it should have been. They were supposed to go crazy and lose their minds _together_. They were supposed to turn_ together_. She wasn't supposed to still be alive while her best friend was gone.

She took a deep breath as she looked at the body convulsing on the ground at her feet. Her hands shook and Riley's gun fell loose from her grip, hitting the ground with a loud clatter.

Adrenaline had taken over and everything had happened so fast after Riley had lunged for her. Ellie had somehow managed to shove Riley off her before grabbing the gun. She heard herself say _I'm sorry_ followed by the sound of a gunshot.

_Holy shit,_ she thought. _What did I just do?_

She shook herself out of the memory and took another breath; another attempt to try and calm her shaky nerves. It didn't do anything – she was shaking too much. All of the adrenaline had escaped her body, leaving her confused and shocked.

She backed up until her back made contact with the wall with a small thud. She slid down the wall into a sitting position and pulled her knees up to her chest. She laid her head on the top of knees and wrapped her arms tightly around her legs.

She took slow, deep breathes.

Inhale. Exhale.

She kept the same rhythm, trying desperately to slow her rapidly beating heart.

What was she supposed to do? Go on and act like this never happened? Live with everything? How was she supposed to do that? Especially when her best friend was gone, leaving her alone.

And the most important question that was plaguing her thoughts – Why hadn't she changed yet?

She was supposed to change, but yet she hadn't. She'd just sat by and watched as the humanity drained from her best friend.

_I should have changed by now, _she thought.

That was one thing she was sure of. It was daylight when they first got there. But now the sun had long set and the sky was dark. The gurgling and clicking noises from the infected were the only sounds she heard in the distance.

She should have been one. She should have turned.

But that was the world they lived in. It was a cruel one.

The worlds Riley had said came back to her.

_We keep fighting. _

That's exactly what she was going to do. She wasn't going to give up. She took another deep breath to steady her nerves. When she was sure she could stand and keep her balance, she pushed herself onto her feet.

She picked up the switchblade that belonged to her mother and shoved it in her back pocket. She then picked up Riley's gun, turning it over in her hands. She let her gaze fall on it for awhile, feeling the sorrow spread through her.

She pursed her lips and tucked the gun into the waistband of her jeans.

"Goodbye Riley."

Ellie turned and retraced their steps back towards the counter with their backpacks. As she walked, she tried not to think about what happened the previous day. She tried not to hear the noises of the infected as they were chased through the back corridors of the buildings.

But it was impossible.

She could still see and hear everything clearly. As if it was a movie replaying over and over again in her head.

Maybe she never would forget it.

She finally reached the backpacks and was met with the sounds of faint music. She walked towards the speaker and yanked the cord out of it, wanting it and the memories that came with it to stop. She didn't want to think about that now.

She composed herself and slowly made her way towards the packs. She knelt next to them and took a minute before gathering them up. When she was back on her feet, she hoisted her pack onto her back.

The glint of something metal caught her eye and she found herself walking towards it. She bent over and picked up the sliver necklace that had caught her attention. The front side of the silver circle bore the firefly logo – it was all too familiar to her.

She turned it over in her hand. There was a name engraved into the metal – Riley's name glared at her.

_Riley Abel. _

It wasn't fair.

_We keep fighting…We don't give that up. _

Ellie closed her hand around the necklace as Riley's words echoed in her head. Riley kept fighting until her last breath and so could she. Ellie was going to find Marlene – she was going to figure this out. She could find a way to make this a better world.

That was a promise she planned to keep.

For Riley.


End file.
